July 29, 2020

Protest Poems and Start of School


Protest Poems and Start of School
Photo by Sunyu Kim on Unsplash

“Are all these really mercenaries?
In Moscow, their voices are heard already!
The column went more and more powerfully.
They do not ask or pray,
They want the will to reach
All the ears of the people.
And there is no task to borrow,
No, it’s not their roof that is sliding.
‘We are not stupid, we are not stupid!’
Ah, those who don't want to hear them.”

– Sergei Shnurov, leader of the band Leningrad, and a politician and producer, who used a poem on Instagram to announce his arrival in Khabarovsk t to check out the protests occuring there in response to the arrest of governor Sergei Furgal

Runner-Up Quote of the Week

“I want to emphasize that we are talking about the traditional, classical form of education starting on September 1. We do not plan to introduce distance learning.”

– Minister of Education Sergei Kravtsov, on plans for reopening Russian schools in the fall
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Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

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Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

Life Stories
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Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

Jews in Service to the Tsar
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Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

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